Media advisory: Students gather to learn about human rights Nov. 18

Media advisory: Students gather to learn about human rights Nov. 18

Media advisory: Students gather to learn about human rights Nov. 18

Professor Ted Neal works with students in the community to launch weather balloons as a way to enrich science education with hands-on learning. Photo by Mei-Ling Shaw Williams.

WHAT: Hundreds of middle school students from eastern Iowa and western Illinois will participate in the 18thannual University of Iowa International Day for Human Rights. Members of the media are invited to attend this hands-on, interactive event, which will focus on “The Human Right to a Clean Environment.”

Featured activities will include a keynote address from 9:10 a.m. to 9:50 presented by Kevin Adair, director of Force of the Sun and founder of El Fuego del Sol Ecovillage.

Adair has traveled the world promoting economic and environmental sustainability by providing environmentally friendly solutions to community problems. In Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Force of the Sun helps communities implement sustainable cooking systems called Sun Ovens that run on biomass briquettes. Adair also promotes beneficial tourism in the Dominican Republic and Haiti through El Fuego del Sol.

During a large group session from 1 to 1:40 p.m., Ted Neal, clinical instructor of Science Education at the UI College of Education, will give students a live demonstration of how scientists use drones and weather balloons to determine the health of our environment.

Students will choose from among several breakout sessions led by university and community leaders on topics ranging from cleaning up oil spills to bee keeping.

WHY: UI College of Education professor and event co-coordinator Gregory Hamot says International Day gives students an opportunity to see the world in new ways and experience topics that may not be covered in standard classroom curricula.

WHO: The event is hosted by the UI College of Education in cooperation with the Stanley Foundation. Speakers and presenters come from several UI departments as well as community organizations.